A Russian investigator on Sunday instructed the country’s investigative committee to conduct a legal assessment concerning statements made by the German justice minister on executing an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin.
“The Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee (Alexander Bastrykin) instructed the central office of the department, as part of the ongoing audit, to give the necessary legal assessment of the statements of the Minister of Justice of Germany on the fulfillment of the illegal requirement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest citizens of the Russian Federation in Germany,” a statement by the Investigative Committee of Russia read.
Earlier, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that Berlin would be obliged to execute an arrest warrant against Putin and hand him over to the ICC if he entered German territory.
"I expect that the International Criminal Court in The Hague will swiftly approach Interpol as well as the contracting states and ask them for enforcement," Buschmann said.
On Friday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed the issuance of the arrest warrant for Putin as an "important step towards justice."
Meanwhile, Russia has rejected the decision by the ICC, saying it does not recognize its jurisdiction and considers its decisions “null and void.”
